Top News Headlines of 16 December 2013

Researchers, including one of Indian-origin, have developed smart talking toys that receive audio messages sent from parents’ smartphone and play them out to the kids.

Scientists have developed a new device which enables your smartphone’s camera to read your cholesterol level instantly by simply clicking a selfie. The gadget eliminates the need for clumsy home cholesterol-testing devices.

Niklas Wellen slammed a brilliant hat-trick to guide defending champions Germany to their record sixth world title, beating unheralded France 5-2 in the summit clash of the Junior hockey World Cup at the floodlit Major Dhyan Chand, here on Sunday.

Atsedu Tsegay of Ethopia conquered a competitive men’s elite athlete field and also set a new course record to win the Airtel Delhi half marathon on Sunday.

World number one Lee Chong Wei Sunday became the first player to win four titles in the season-ending BWF World Superseries Finals when he crushed Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto.

Fourth seed Sourabh Varma overwhelmed third seed H S Prannoy in a one-sided final to clinch the men`s singles title in the USD 15,000 Tata Open India International Challenge badminton tournament here on Sunday.

David Warner put Australia into prime position to reclaim the Ashes in the third Test, making England pay dearly for its missed opportunities as he helped increase the lead to 369 runs with a rapid century on Sunday.

Singer and Indian Idol Sandeep Acharya breathed his last on Sunday. Originally from Rajasthan, he had won the music reality show in 2006.

Pramod Mittal, the younger brother of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, is believed to have spent a whopping Rs 500 crore on his daughter’s wedding in Barcelona.

Peter O’Toole, the charismatic actor who achieved instant stardom as Lawrence of Arabia and was nominated eight times for an Academy Award, has died, his agent said Sunday. He was 81.

Union labour and employment minister Sis Ram Ola died at a Gurgaon hospital on Sunday after a prolonged illness. He will be cremated on Monday in his native village in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan with full state honours.

State BJD youth general secretary Abhimanyu Sahu was killed while on a morning walk in his home town, Titlagarh in Balangir district in Odisha on Sunday.

Months after severing ties with Congress on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, DMK chief M Karunanidhi today ruled out any alliance with its former ally for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Congress’ Delhi unit chief JP Aggarwal has resigned from his post following the party’s rout in the assembly elections, party sources said Sunday. The move comes after the newly-elected Congress legislators accused Aggarwal of non-cooperation in the elections.

Gunmen have shot dead television presenter Nawras al-Nuaimi in northern Iraq, as attacks across the country left 20 people dead. Al-Mosuliyah TV and police said that Nuaimi was murdered as she was walking near her home in Mosul, 400 kilometres northwest of Baghdad on Sunday night.

At least four persons were killed in fresh clashes in Bangladesh on Sunday, taking the death toll to 25 in violence triggered by the execution of a senior Jamaat leader, even as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina warned of a crackdown on rioters.

The European Union suspended historic partnership talks with Ukraine on Sunday as 200,000 protesters massed in the heart of Kiev demanding that the government recommit itself to the West.